The Night Manager season 2 finale spoilers ahead.

The Night Manager season 2 finale was nothing short of devastating. And I mean that in the most complimentary way possible. After a gripping season of seductive twists and turns that had us perched on the very edges of our seats, things came to an epic conclusion with a showdown that was practically Shakespearean in proportion.

The first season of The Night Manager saw Tom Hiddleston’s Jonathan Pine taking down international arms dealer Richard Roper (Hugh Laurie) in a thrilling spy adventure. The second season, which picked up ten years later, saw Pine unexpectedly find himself embroiled in a new spy caper. This time, his investigations took him to Columbia, where he found himself dealing with Teddy Dos Santos (Diego Calva) and Roxana (Camila Marone), who seemed to be involved in an underground arms-dealing conspiracy. And, of course, it was Roper – come back from the dead – who was ultimately behind it all.

The unforgiving, brutal finale was just as painful and heartbreaking as it was exhilarating. Here’s what went down.

BBC/Des Willie

The Night Manager season 2 ending explained

The explosive finale begins with Pine, Sally (Hayley Squire) and Martin (Diego Santos) ready to expose and end Roper’s Colombian arms deal. At this point, the trio have a plan: the plane full of Roper’s weapons (which is meant to be on route to a secret exchange in the jungle) has actually been diverted to be discovered by Columbia’s attorney general along with members of the media.

Pine makes one final plea to Teddy. “You can be free. But not with him alive,” he tells a willing Teddy. The “him” in question is, of course, Pine’s nemesis and Teddy’s father, Richard Roper.

As the arms deal plot fast-approaches, Roxy and Roper have a moment – she reveals that Teddy has switched to the other side before Roper takes a moment to reveal his villain origin story – something about boarding schools and mummy issues.

Pine and Teddy continue to get closer. Teddy, still pretending to be team Roper, watches on as Pine is beaten by Roper’s men, before cleaning his wounds. Teddy seems to know this won’t end well…

Teddy’s tragic end

The Night Manager season 2 finale was nothing if not bold in its choices. This is a show where people are driven to horrible acts and the unimaginable plays out in cold, unforgiving detail – and naturally, we’re unable to tear our eyes away from the screen.